Tonight I had an unusual kind of fun. Jeannie (who was my college room mate almost forty years ago and is still a dear friend) continues to work on The University of Texas campus and to have access to information about activities held on campus. Tonight she and I attended an event called "The Big Yell" during which the attendees were treated to pizza, shown historic slides of UT buildings and sports teams from 1892 through 1950, and invited to participate in a recording of some of the old - long unheard yells. An example is the Rattle De Thrat Yell from 1896,

Rattle de thrat, de thrat, de thrat!
Rattle de thrat, de thrat, de thrat!
Longhorn! Cactus Thorn!
M-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o- TEXAS!!!

Pretty silly and out of my normal mode, but tremendously fun. I have much pleasure and satisfaction and fulfillment in life. Not so much plain fun. This was FUN. I liked having a reason (making the tape sound authentic) to jump and shout and be generally silly. A sociometrist would call it role relieve, but tonight I'll be redundant and one more time call it simply fun.

Also, I was touched by my family's long connection with the University of Texas. My parents attended there in the 1930's, Mama worked in the bursar's office after graduation and Daddy was a professor there when I was born in 1950. There are buildings on campus named after people who were household names in my childhood, people of whom I have fond memories even into my adulthood. It felt both strange and sweet to hear mention of Arno Nowottney (who carried me across the street when I was three and for some crazy reason had no shoes in August) and Dorothy Gebauer (Dean of Women who was Mama's first boss and mentor, helped arrange my adoption, and remained my friend well into my marriage and her retirement). There's a Gebauer Building on campus now, and A Nowotteny room in the Alumni Center. They are part of history and deserve to be, and part of my memory too.